The Shoura Council (Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia) has approved a draft agreement between the Saudi Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Foreign Employment in Sri Lanka regarding the employment of household workers.

The agreement aims to protect the rights of domestic workers and employers by organizing the contractual relationship between them, and emphasizes the development of a standard employment contract for household workers that is acceptable to authorities in both countries, and binding on the contracted parties, the Saudi recruitment office and the Sri Lankan recruitment agency.

According to the articles of the agreement, all household workers would need to be employed through offices, companies, or recruitment agencies to regulate and control the costs of recruitment in both countries. Additionally, no fees can be deducted from the salary of a domestic worker for the costs of recruitment and employment, and such agencies should ensure that the contracted parties can resort to authorities in the case of any contractual dispute.

The agreement indicates that the Kingdom would be obligated to protect the rights of workers in accordance with the regulations, facilitate the opening of a bank account, and provide workers with assistance related to contract issues, and the issuance of exit visas for domestic workers at the end of the contract or in case of emergency.

Sri Lanka will be responsible for verifying the qualifications of employees and ensuring that the employees are medically fit, do not have a criminal history, and will observe the regulations and customs in the Kingdom during their stay. Employees are also required to provide the work contract to the Sri Lankan embassy in the Kingdom for verification. The agreement is valid for 5 years from the date of its announcement. – Arab News